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As Economy Falters, Everglades May Lose Out

In the past months, the headlines have been dominated by news of yet another bad day for the stock market. But, there is another casualty of the recession that probably isn’t getting as much press. While stocks continue to plummet, the Everglades of South Florida may also be falling on hard times as a result of the financial crisis.

Property of Therisa Stack

The Everglades are arguably one of the most unique ecosystems in the world. Dubbed the “River of Grass” by naturalists, it is home to a vast array of plant and animal life. Yet, as a result of development pressure, the Everglades are in a severe state of decline. If left unchecked, the Everglades are in danger of succumbing to complete ecological collapse.

One reason that the Everglades are so special, and fragile, is the unique hydrology that has shaped it. Slightly sloping bedrock in the region has created a sheet-like flow of water through a web of interconnected ecosystems that spans from Lake Okeechobee to the southern tip of Florida, an area roughly 100 miles long and 60 miles wide.

Source: www.evergladesplan.org

This sheet flow has given rise to the distinct features of the park – including 1,100 species of trees and plants and 350 species of birds – some of which do not exist anywhere else in the world. (Click here to watch a short video about the ecology of the Everglades.)

Since the late-1800’s, however, the Everglades ecosystem has undergone significant engineering to enhance drainage necessary for settlement and agricultural production. As a result, less than 50% of the original Everglades remain today, resulting in the devastation of many wildlife populations in the park. Because it has been recognized that the survival of the Everglades is dependent upon water flow, restoration efforts have made concerted efforts to restore natural hydrologic regimes.

The Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan, deemed the largest ecosystem restoration project in U.S. history, has been key in implementing policies to restore the River of Grass. One major component of the plan has been the purchase of significant tracts of agricultural land just south of Lake Okeechobee by the State of Florida. The land, owned by the U.S. Sugar Corporation, would be a key component to returning sufficient water flow to the endangered ecosystem.

This past June, Governor Charlie Crist announced a deal in which the state would purchase 187,000 acres of land owned by U.S. Sugar Corporation. While this plan was subsequently scaled back to cut costs in November, it has maintained the intention of purchasing 180,000 acres of land for a price of $1.34 billion dollars – no small feat! In the proposed plan, agricultural activities would be phased out gradually over the next 6 years.

The buyback was initially hailed as a huge win for restoration efforts, gaining the backing of many environmentalists and politicians alike. Things were looking up.

Yet in recent weeks, the plan has come under increased scrutiny as anxiety over the national financial crisis has intensified. The price tag has raised concerns among some elected officials over the need to raise property taxes in the region. Additionally, soaring unemployment rates across the country have made the thought of phasing out the 1,700 jobs created by U.S. Sugar Corporation a little less palatable.

The tug of war over the land buyback illustrates the complexity of environmental management and ecosystem restoration plans. The need to balance ecological concerns with a varying array of social, economic, and political issues is inherently challenging. And when money gets tight, funding for such initiatives is often the first thing to go.

Yet, while the markets may be fluctuating, there is one thing that won’t change. If action is not taken to restore water flow to the Everglades soon, there may be irreversible consequences – including the complete destruction of the Everglades – and that’s a price that none of us can afford to pay.

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3 thoughts on “As Economy Falters, Everglades May Lose Out”

Our nation continues to attempt to put our finger in the dike, instead of rebuilding the dike(pun intended). If we as a country continue to focus on the short-term and quick fixes instead of long-term investments and solutions our economy will continue to decline and we will continue to destroy our environment. The “Change” we need is a paradigm shift in the way we approach problems. The issues facing the Everglades and the about face on dealing with them are unfortunately another example of our shortsightedness.

Like many Everglades supporters, I was thrilled and surprised to learn about the U.S. Sugar buyout back in June, and I have been saddened by recent events that have put the deal in jeopardy. As this post points out, destruction of the Everglades is a price we just can’t afford to pay. I would also point out that we are being presented with a false choice, between economic well-being on the one hand, and ecological well-being on the other. This framing of the issue, by local politicians and business interests, ignores both the tremendous “ecosystem-services” value of the Everglades as well as creative long-term solutions that might benefit the region, and focuses only on hot-button issues such as potential job losses. True restoration and protection of the Everglades will require a deep shift in the way the value of the place is calculated. In these troubled economic times, it’s incumbent on all of us who support the environment not to fall into the “economy vs ecology” trap.

Ecology conservation used to be associated more with moralistic reasons; “though costly, it is something we should do.” However, a lot of studies nowadays have proven that ecology conservation actually result in economical profit in long term. Every ecosystem, including everglades about which I learned so much through this post, has a crucial role and enormous value that we cannot artificially emulate. Though there should be more in-depth studies to fully understand and estimate the value of ecosystem, it is apparently time to shift our paradigm from “ecology vs. economy” to “ecology = economy.”

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State of the Planet is a forum for discussion on varying viewpoints. The opinions expressed by the authors and those providing comments are theirs alone, and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Earth Institute or Columbia University.